Criss Cross, Applesauce Chlark Family Future Fic
by kdsch123
Summary: The Kent Twins take on kindergarten


Criss-Cross, Applesauce - A Chlark Family Future Ficlet

By Denise (kdsch123)

Rating: G – for everyone, married!Chlark,

Summary: The Kent Twins take on Metropolis Day School Kindergarten.

Acknowledgements: This one is for carcassi, who specially asked for a Kent Twins first day of school fic. Hope you like it. ;) WB, DC own it all, except for Lara Elizabeth Kent and Jonathan Peter Kent. I made those two crazy kids up all by myself.

Part I - School is Stupid

"This is stupid." Jonathan tugged on the sleeves of his blue sweater and glared at his mother from under unruly dark curls. "School is stupid."

Chloe continued to pack the twins lunches while her son pouted, his sleeves now stretched around him like a knitted straitjacket. "Complain away, little Kent, but you are going. I don't hear your sister making so much noise about school being stupid. And your teacher seems nice. Did you see the computers in the classroom? I'll bet you'll get to use them and everything."

Jonathan dropped his chin to his chest stubbornly. "I won't like it."

"You don't have to like it. You just have to go." Chloe sighed, slapping bread over the turkey sandwiches. Hearing the clackety clack of new patent leather shoes, Chloe looked up just as Lara appeared in the kitchen doorway, smiling at the sound her shoes made on the parquet floor. "Hey, Sunshine…you ready for school?"

"I am, Mommy." Lara nodded. "Is Courtney going to be there?" Courtney Ross, Pete and Lana Ross' oldest girl was Lara's best friend and closest companion. They did everything together, and school would be no exception.

"I think so." Chloe nodded, smiling. "I remember hearing she was in your class. See, Jonathan? Your sister and Courtney will be in your class, too."

"Stupid girls." Jonathan muttered, dropping the stretched out sweater sleeves and picking up his spoon to eat breakfast. "Girls are stupid."

Chloe bit her lip and tried to remember that the stubborn boy at the table was only five. Sometimes she forgot her children were not little teenagers, and often spoke to them as such, reasoning and rationalizing with them. Both children already knew how to read and write, although Lara's interest in both was stronger than her brother's was. Lara did a small ballet turn, watching her crisply pleated plaid skirt twirl in a perfect circle and then sat down at the table to eat her own breakfast. Humming, Lara's feet swung under the table, occasionally connecting with Jonathan's knee, her smile widening at her brother's indignant yelp.

"Okay, you two, knock it off." Chloe sat down at the table, lunches packed. "Your teacher is very nice, and I expect you to be good today." She rested her hands on her coffee cup. "And, Jonathan, remember that the other children aren't as strong as you are and…."

"I know…"Jonathan shrugged. "Play nice."

"Right." Chloe turned to her daughter. "The teacher is the boss in the classroom, too, Lara. You let her tell your brother what to do."

"Yes, Mommy." Lara's tone was sweetly docile and way too compliant. Chloe held out a hand, clearing her throat.

"Give it to me." She said, and her daughter shook her head, her expression angelic.

"What?" The girl asked, and Chloe shook her head.

"I invented this game, girlie. Hand over the Kryptonite and no one gets hurt, or loses dessert tonight." Chloe eyed her daughter suspiciously. "No fair taking it to school. How many times have I told you that you shouldn't use Kryptonite on your brother, ever?"

"A lot." Lara reached into her pocket and dropped a small nugget that flared with light for a moment and then went dark into Chloe's hand. It was reassuring that Kryptonite didn't bother Lara at all, because it left only Jonathan to worry about. Lara stuck her tongue out at her brother and he glowered back. "But, he's got more. In his pockets…"

"Shut up, doodiehead!" Jonathan bellowed, standing. "I do not!"

"Yes!" Lara cried, pointing her finger at Jonathan. "He said it makes him sick and he will get to come home from school..." A chunk of Kryptonite flew across the room, and Lara ducked, moving faster than Chloe had ever seen her daughter move, but still not as fast as her brother. "Jonathan's a faker, faker…" Two more whizzed by Lara's head, breaking the vase of fresh daisies Clark had just brought home for Chloe the night before. Sighing, Chloe got up, and cleaned up the broken glass and spilled water, dropping the abused flowers into a metal spatterware pitcher.

"I hate you." Jonathan advanced toward Lara, hands balled into fists, ready to cause his sister damage. "You weren't supposed to tell…."

"Whoa, slugger." Chloe caught her furious son quickly and enclosed him in her arms. She glared at Lara. "You, knock it off, don't tease your brother. After school, I want any and all Kryptonite in this house on this table, in the lead box. Got it? EVERY last piece." Chloe looked down into Jonathan's flushed face. "You can't play sick, Jonathan. You have to go to school."

Defeated, Jonathan dropped his head and sighed. "I'll go, but I won't like it."

It was a beautiful September morning in Metropolis as Chloe and the twins made their way to the elementary school. The whole way, Chloe regaled them with stories of her kindergarten days until Jonathan seemed more excited and Lara ready to burst with joy.

"Daddy!" Lara squealed, seeing Clark standing near the school gate, waving. "Daddy!" She dropped Chloe's hand and raced to her father.

"Hey, you guys!" Clark scooped Lara up and kissed her nose. "Sorry I'm late." He kissed his wife hello quickly and rumpled Jonathan's hair. "I was afraid I'd missed you."

"You almost did." Chloe replied, as they walked the twins inside the school. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Clark nodded. "The usual, saved the day. Diana says hi, and Con will be around for dinner tonight."

"Uh-huh." Chloe smiled as they approached the classroom door. She paused and looked down at her children. "You ready?"

"Yes!" Lara chirped brightly, and Jonathan nodded, his little face very serious. He looked up at Clark and sighed.

"Dad, if I don't like it, do I have to go tomorrow?" Jonathan asked, and Clark knelt beside his son and smiled.

"We all have things we don't like to do, buddy. Give it a chance. I think you are going to love school." Clark said encouragingly. "You'll make friends. Your uncle Pete and I have been friends since before kindergarten."

Jonathan took this in skeptically and then sighed. "Okay…I'll try…."

Part II – "My Daddy is Superman"

"Well, he is!" Lara wailed, stomping her foot so hard her red-gold curls bounced. The carefully drawn picture of a figure in blue and red holding a smaller figure with orange hair was a wrinkled mess in the girl's hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Courtney Ross had also left her seat and was standing next to her friend, loyally nodding at Lara's assertions. Jonathan too, had come forward, and just as twins to, he had slipped his hand in Lara's and watched the teacher with wide eyes.

"All little girls think their Daddies are special." Mrs. Parker said carefully, not wanting to destroy the dreams of her little students. "And your daddy is a hero, in his own way. His articles about things that happen here in Metropolis help all of us. I'm sure your daddy will love the picture you drew of him." The teacher smiled, and Lara nodded reluctantly, sniffling.

"Come on, Lara." Courtney muttered, pulling on her friend gently. Mrs. Parker winced inwardly at the dark glare the Ross girl gave her. Lara nodded, and went back to the green table, head low. It was Jonathan who lingered, and then turned, walked slowly back to his seat at the red table to pick up his crayons again. Mrs. Parker sighed, looking at Lara Kent as the child began to look at picture books with her friend, distracted. The first day was always the hardest.

"Can I have that crayon now?" Jonathan held out a grubby hand for the blue crayon, and was met by a cool grey stare that made Jonathan uncomfortable.

"These are my own crayons. My daddy sent them in for me." The grey-eyed boy replied simply. "The ones for the rest of the class are in the box."

"Those crayons are for everyone." Jonathan said, dropping his voice dangerously. "You have to share."

"I don't have to." The boy replied calmly, shaking his head. He continued to color with the blue crayon slowly and purposefully . "I don't have to share with anyone."

Jonathan balled his hands into fists, snapping the red crayon in his hand to bits. "YES, you do."

The grey eyed boy dropped the blue crayon on the floor and crushed it under his foot. "No, I don't."

"Lian!" Mrs. Parker appeared, kneeling down beside them at the table. "Did you just break that crayon? You know those are for everyone. And Jonathan? Oh, my…" She looked at the broken pieces of red crayon on the table and blue crayon on the floor. "What a shame, too. On the first day of school."

The grey-eyed boy, Lian, shrugged, and picked up a green crayon from the box. "My daddy will send as many as I want. I don't have to share with anyone, ever."

"That's not the point, Lian. In this class, you will always have to share, no matter how many crayons your daddy can give you." Mrs. Parker took the green crayon from him. "Come with me, please. You need some time out to think about sharing. Jonathan, you wait right there." She stood, and held out her hand for Lian. "Let's go." The teacher walked the other boy over to the red naughty chair, made him sit down and then walked back to Jonathan. "What happened?"

"I wanted the blue, and he wouldn't share." Jonathan said, pushing the red crayon together. "I got mad and crunched this one, and he smashed that one, just because I wanted it."

"Hmm." Mrs. Parker looked down at the ruined blue crayon. "I have more crayons, you know. I could get you a blue one, if you do me a favor."

"What?" Jonathan asked, remembering that this woman was the one that made Lara cry earlier. She must not be a nice lady if she did that. But, the on-purpose crayon smashing Lian was in time out. Which had to mean that Mrs. Parker wasn't all bad, either.

"Help me pick these pieces up, so we can save them for an art project we'll do with all the broken crayons. Will you do that?" Mrs. Parker smiled and Jonathan nodded.

"I can help." He quickly reached down and picked up the chunks of blue crayon and then swept the red into a pile on the table, dropping the blue pieces on top. Jonathan smiled proudly and then looked over at Lian, who was watching sadly from the time out chair. "Can Lian come back to the table now?"

Mrs. Parker smiled. "I think he learned his lesson." She stood, and clapped her hands to get the attention of the class. "Okay, everyone, over to the carpet for story time."

At recess, Lara got to stand away from the play area for pushing a little girl who said Superman was stupid and that Superboy was a wimp. Later, Lara said she was sorry to her victim and they played superheroes together with Courtney for the rest of recess.

At lunch, Jonathan and Lian became best friends forever when Jonathan shared his turkey sandwich and his sugar cookies because Lian's lunch, vegetable sushi and fruit salad, was gross.

At group time, Lara and Jonathan completed the workbooks that the teacher gave them, before everyone else, and then both were put in time out for fighting over who actually finished first.

At naptime, Jonathan got a time out for tickling Courtney and pulling her curls to make them bounce like springs. Lara fell asleep with a Robin Hood picture book hugged to her chest.

Near the end of the day, Lara got to feed and water the class hamster and Jonathan was picked to be the doorholder at dismissal time.

Chloe and Lana waited outside for their children, Lana pushing her two younger boys in a double stroller, and Chloe making notes for her latest article. Soon enough, the kindergarten classes poured out of the doors, and finally, Jonathan, Courtney and Lara, complete with two new companions. The little girl with Courtney and Lara waved and ducked into a black SUV that slowly drove off with a jaunty beep as it passed Chloe and Lana. They all waved as Lara's new friend Ashley waved furiously back at them, grinning. The boy, serious in his almost too grown up clothes, greeted Chloe and Lana politely and then walked to the long stretch limousine that waited for him. It pulled away from the curb silently, and Chloe and Lana both looked at each other, noting the licence plate "LTHR5" without a word spoken between them.

It was well after bedtime when Clark arrived home to find Chloe sitting on the couch reading the notes in the twin's Daily Folders, an enigmatic smile on her face.

"So, was it a good day?" He asked, sitting on the large ottoman Chloe's feet were on. "They ready for college?"

Chloe closed the folder in her hand and set it on her lap, and sighed. "Well, there's a lead box full of Kryptonite pebbles on the kitchen table that your children are trying to kill each other with, Lara told the whole class you were Superman, and you'll never guess who Jonathan's new best friend is."

Clark nodded. "The Kryptonite pebbles are neutralized. Bruce managed to depower small amounts. Those are test subjects he was finished with. They still kind of glow when a Kryptonian comes in contact with them, but that's it. I gave them to the twins to play with. And my daughter ratted me out, huh?" He laughed and rumpled his own hair. "So much for being honest with your children. I need to lie to them more. Anyone believe her?"

"No. Clark Kent, Kerth winning reporter is enough of a hero for the teacher." Chloe smiled a little. "Lara made you a present. It's in the kitchen."

"Okay." Clark leaned forward and took Chloe's hands. "So, who is Jonathan's new friend?"

"Apparently Lex's latest ex-wife decided that Metropolis Day School is the place for little Julian. They call him Lian, but it's him." Chloe told her husband, clearly worried. "Seeing Jonathan and Julian so close, Clark…it was creepy. Reminded me of Smallville and Lex way back then when we first met him. So sad…you should have seen his eyes, Clark. He's a lonely little boy." Chloe shivered.

Clark smiled sadly. "All the better that Jonathan is Julian's friend, Chloe. Maybe that will be one Luthor who has a chance to be different. Look at Conner." Clark kissed her hands. "Did he come for dinner?"

"With Cassie, yes." Chloe grinned. "Leftovers are in the microwave for you. Meatloaf. So, that's it. First day of school a success."

Clark picked up the red vinyl folder that had his daughter's name printed on it and opened it. A green smiley face stamp had been placed over the first day, and a few lines written by the teacher underneath. Chloe handed him the blue one for Jonathan and Clark read the teacher's notes and then laughed. "They sound like us."

"I know. Poor things." Chloe grinned. "Go up and say goodnight. I don't need superhearing to know they're still awake."

"Yeah." Clark stood. "Be right back." He made his way upstairs, and went into his son's room first. Jonathan was fast asleep. Clark bent over and kissed his son softly and then left the room on tiptoe. He found Lara awake, deep in thought.

"Hi, Peach." Clark smiled, running a hand over his daughter's silky strawberry blonde hair. "Why are you still up? It's really late." Lara sat up, and climbed into Clark's lap the minute he sat down on the side of her bed.

"Daddy, you are Superman, right? That's the truth, right?" She asked, her little face full of concern.

"Yes, it's the truth." Clark nodded. "But people aren't going to believe that, because Superman is kind of mysterious. No one would believe he has a wife and a son and a little girl who asks lots of questions…" Clark hugged Lara tight. "So, it's kind of a secret."

"A good secret, Daddy?" Lara asked sleepily.

"Yes. And one to keep." Clark replied, putting his daughter back under her covers and tucking her in. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"It was okay." Lara yawned. "Do I have to go there tomorrow?"

"Yes." Clark kissed her cheek. "Don't you want to go?"

She yawned again. "No…school is stupid…"


End file.
